Readers sound off on marijuana, overpopulation and Trump

January 12, 2019

What is he smoking? (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

Marijuana is a deadly drug, gov

Hartsdale, N.Y.: Gov. Cuomo is fully aware that marijuana is the gateway to heroin, yet he is now pushing hard to legalize sale in New York, in the hope of raising a lot of money by taxing its sale. He and any politician who votes for this will be personally responsible for the unnecessary deaths of susceptible users. Any police officer who has worked narcotics will tell you that marijuana is the gateway to heroin.

This is not a benign substance that just makes people feel good; it is a hallucinogenic drug. Users need more and more to maintain the same high. People can’t smoke pot for hours every day and maintain a normal family life or hold down a job.

Don’t legalize it

Manhattan: Is former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton the only one in New York State with any brains? He is against the legalization of recreational marijuana, and listed the reasons why. Among them? Law enforcement does not have the capabilities to deal with driving-impaired people. It is as addictive as any drug. Tax it all you want, it will still be grown illegally. These are just a few reasons not to legalize it. Yet all Gov. Cuomo sees is tax dollars. If people need some recreation, try yoga, gym or tennis. Carole A. Michelman

Pot, kettle

Brooklyn: People who abuse alcohol are easy to spot while driving: Observably, they are not in control of their vehicles. Alcohol trashes physical coordination and good judgment. You never read about police pulling over someone they suspect of marijuana intoxication. It cannot be spotted by the way one drives, while under its influence. One neither loses the ability of physical coordination, nor judgment, while under the effects of marijuana. This is indisputable. I’d much rather share the road with thousands of marijuana users, but not even one drunk. The only people who badmouth marijuana use, don’t partake of it, and therefore, are clueless as to what it’s like to be under its influence, according to this writer’s observations. Stan Rosenson

Chill, dude

East Elmhurst: I don’t know why the big concern over legal marijuana and driving. Only drunk drivers blow through stop signs and kill people. Stoned drivers stop and wait for them to turn green. Thierry Spitzer

Reefer goodness

Bronx: Am I really supposed to believe that the only letters you are getting about marijuana are against it? It’s bad enough people get arrested for something that is not morally criminal. Jail should be reserved for criminals. But at least you do not have to print all the reefer madness stuff when you’re not printing letters supporting pot. Richard Warren

People are the worst

Long Island City: I want the next Nobel Prize winner to be someone who has finally found a peaceful solution to the world’s most serious problem: overpopulation. God never intended that there be so many of us; that’s why he gave us a brain. Let’s everyone start using it, now. Euclid Carras

Free advice

Brooklyn: Does anyone really think that a wall will stop anyone from entering the U.S.? All they have to do is dig a tunnel and enter that way. Convicts have escaped prisons doing that. I just saved you $5 billion dollars, no charge! Stanley Denker

Pay the toll

Bronx: To the dirtbag in the White House: Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials made an offer to the Democrats late last month, of accepting $2.5 billion for your stupid wall. Because you’re a greedy son of a gun, you want more. If you want a wall that bad, why don’t you put up the rest of the money? Doris Festante

No excuse for him

Clifton, N.J.: The dictator has said “it’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country.” The only disgrace happening in our country sits in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. Alice Dymek

On our side

Flushing: You know, one of the last things famed journalist Charles Krauthammer wrote before he died last year was that Donald Trump, whom he knew vaguely, was not a “populist,” as usually characterized, but was more like a certain 19th century political force in England who primarily aimed to benefit the middle class, who were then under various pressures. He is likely to be battered about by Democrats, but we can be sure he will survive the battering because he has “the Force with him,” as the saying from “Star Wars” goes. Walter Powers

Cut from fine cloth

East Patchogue, L.I.: I’ve been seeing this up-and-coming, smart-as-a-whip, young man named Dan Bongino on TV lately. I do believe we have in him presidential material. Catherine Lo Curto

Just buy a cup

Brooklyn: Two young male blacks, casually dressed, entered a Starbucks establishment. One or both wished to use the restroom. Store policy states only paying customers can use that facility. The young white female server was only trying to enforce company policy, but the males refused to comply. All they needed to do to end this standoff was to buy a damn cup of coffee. From my point of view on that day, she was their victim. Anita Johnson

You’re welcome

Brooklyn: Thank you for the DVDs of the Christmas movies. It was a surprise to receive them in the mail today. We will enjoy them every year around this time. I enter all your contests and I hope I continue winning. The feeling is great. Carol Hart

Save the foxes

Manhattan: Voicer Sylvie Pomicter and I speak for the voiceless, who should be protected and respected by humans. Fur is not a fabric; it is made of dead animals. Sylvia spoke the truth about how animals are tortured. Would you wear your dog’s fur? These animals want to live, just as we do. Their young die alone when “mother” does not return. Please, everyone, God creates these animals. Donate to small rescue groups. We are their only hope. Marion Saulig

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Tragedy plus time

Bayside: “Mother Goose & Grimm” always puts a smile on my face. The clever sense of humor of its creator is unmatched. The best of the bunch sits on my fridge with a magnet. It goes like this. A woman is teaching a dog some tricks, as in “Sit, now down, now play dead, now do standup.” The dog replies, “A priest and a rabbi walk into a bar.” Sarah Alboher

Caught in the wire

Brooklyn: I have called Verizon Fios a number of times. They ask stupid questions. A wasted call just doesn’t help. Elaine Gelobter